Voyage To Inner Space - Exploring the Seas With NOAA CollectCatalog of Images

6150

A yellow sponge.

Gulf of Mexico, North

6151

A translucent sponge and a yellow encrusting sponge.

Gulf of Mexico, North

6152

Numerous small brown anemones and yellow and cream-colored encrusting sponge.

Gulf of Mexico, North

6153

A valentine's day sponge surrounded by what appear to be worm tubes and small brown anemones. In the lower left are large white anemones with orange mouths and lollipop sponges.

Gulf of Mexico, North

6154

Lollipop sponges. An elongate odd crustacean is in the lower left center of the image. It is a caprellid amphipod or ghost shrimp. There appears to be another one directly above it.

Gulf of Mexico, North

6155

Lollipop sponges and reddish pink anemones.

Gulf of Mexico, North

6156

A beautiful translucent shrimp hides in a glass sponge. Look at the bottom center to find the shrimps eyes and aquamarine body.

Gulf of Mexico, North

6157

A glass sponge

Gulf of Mexico, North

6158

Lollypop sponges.

Gulf of Mexico, North

6159

Small white glass sponge.

Gulf of Mexico, North

6160

A brownish red spiky-looking holothurian

Gulf of Mexico, North

6161

A grayish-white holothurian on a sandy bottom.

Gulf of Mexico, North

6162

A brownish red spiky-looking holothurian. A hydroid in upper left and a red sponge in lower right.

Gulf of Mexico, North

6163

A closeup of the "legs" of a holothurian. Odd white material on some of the upper "legs".

Gulf of Mexico, North

6164

A purplish-white holothurian on a rock and sand bottom. There appear to be numerous small sponges on the rocks.

Gulf of Mexico, North

6165

Holothurian covered with sand and pteropod shells on a sand covered rocky ledge.

Gulf of Mexico, North

6166

Holothurian covered with sand and pteropod shells on a sand covered rocky ledge.

Gulf of Mexico, North

6167

A purplish red translucent swimming holothurian

Gulf of Mexico, North

6168

Benthothuria, an escape swimmer. When disturbed , Benthothuria flexes its body and empties its gut of heavy sediment. Having come off the bottom, it remains suspended due to the neutral buoyancy of its thick purple body wall. Somehow it gains enough weight to sink and resume feeding.

Gulf of Mexico, North

6169

Benthothuria, an escape swimmer. When disturbed , Benthothuria flexes its body and empties its gut of heavy sediment. Having come off the bottom, it remains suspended due to the neutral buoyancy of its thick purple body wall. Somehow it gains enough weight to sink and resume feeding.

Gulf of Mexico, North

6170

Benthothuria, an escape swimmer. When disturbed , Benthothuria flexes its body and empties its gut of heavy sediment. Having come off the bottom, it remains suspended due to the neutral buoyancy of its thick purple body wall. Somehow it gains enough weight to sink and resume feeding.

Gulf of Mexico, North

6171

Benthothuria, an escape swimmer. When disturbed , Benthothuria flexes its body and empties its gut of heavy sediment. Having come off the bottom, it remains suspended due to the neutral buoyancy of its thick purple body wall. Somehow it gains enough weight to sink and resume feeding.

Possibly a holothurian adhering to the underside of a rock ledge. If not a holothurian, perhaps the black features looking like dots would give a clue to what it is.

Gulf of Mexico, North

6177

Benthothuria, an escape swimmer. When disturbed , Benthothuria flexes its body and empties its gut of heavy sediment. Having come off the bottom, it remains suspended due to the neutral buoyancy of its thick purple body wall. Somehow it gains enough weight to sink and resume feeding.

Gulf of Mexico, North

6178

Benthothuria, an escape swimmer. When disturbed , Benthothuria flexes its body and empties its gut of heavy sediment. Having come off the bottom, it remains suspended due to the neutral buoyancy of its thick purple body wall. Somehow it gains enough weight to sink and resume feeding.

Gulf of Mexico, North

6179

Two fat purple holothurians on a mud/sand bottom. How do like species find each other or even come into close proximity in the eternal darkness of the seafloor? Why are they purple in a lightless environment?

Gulf of Mexico, North

6180

A swimming pinkish red translucent holothurian. Its front is to the right. The extended "arms" are used to shovel sand and mud in its mouth during feeding.

Gulf of Mexico, North

6181

A pinkish purple translucent holothurian on a sandy bottom.

Gulf of Mexico, North

6182

A fat purple holothurian with two red sea urchins and a red shrimp. on a sandy/ mud bottom.